This document defines and discusses the linguistic features of child-directed speech. It explains that child-directed speech is characterized by slower speech, exaggerated intonation, use of simpler grammar and vocabulary, frequent questions and commands, and body language. Several studies summarized found that children whose caregivers use more child-directed speech have larger vocabularies, while correction of pronunciation may slow language development. The document also notes that not all cultures use child-directed speech and that language development still occurs with language exposure alone.

1. Lecture Seven
Child-directed speech

2. What is child-directed speech?
 The academic term for the language
used by adults/caregivers when
addressing children.

3. Phonology
 Separate phrases more
distinctly (longer
pauses).
 Speak more
s-l-o-w-l-y.
 Exaggerated ‘singsong’
intonation.
 Exaggerated difference
between questions,
statements and
commands.
 Higher and wider
range of pitch.

4. Lexis and Semantics
 Use of concrete nouns
(e.g. train, cat) and
dynamic verbs (e.g.
give, put).
 Adopt child’s own
words for things (e.g.
wickle babbit).
 Frequent use of child’s
name and absence of
pronouns.

5. Grammar
 Repeated sentence frames: ‘That’s a …’
 More simple sentences.
 Fewer complex sentence and passives.
 Omission of past tense and inflections.

6. Grammar
 More command, questions and tag
questions.
 Use of EXPANSIONS: where the adult
‘fills out’ the child’s utterance.
 Use of RECASTINGS: where the
child’s vocabulary is put into a new
utterance.

7. Pragmatics
 Lots of gesture and
body language.
 Stopping
frequently for child
to respond.
 Supportive
language.

8. Clarke-Stewart (1973)
 Children whose mothers talk to them
more have larger vocabularies.

9. Nelson (1973)
 Holophrastic stage
 Children whose mothers corrected
them on word choice and
pronunciation actually advanced more
slowly than those with mothers who
were generally accepting.

10. Kuhl (1992)
 Studied exaggerated vowel sounds
used by parents when speaking to 6-
month olds (in English, Swedish and
Russian).
 Babies turn towards adults who speak
in sing-song voice, ignoring regular
conversation.
 Mothers in all three countries
exaggerated the important vowels.

11. IMPORTANT!!!
 NOT ALL CULTURES USE CHILD-DIRECTED
SPEECH.
 In some (non-western) cultures babies are
expected to ‘blend in’ with adult interaction
and no special accommodation is made.
 These children still go through same
developmental stages at roughly the same
time, as long as there is EXPOSURE to
language.